Charlie's Angels Succeeds For the Most Part As Being A Fun And Energetic Reboot

     

      Reboots in general have had a tough time trying to sell at the box office this year with numerous flops that include Hellboy and Men In Black: International. The fall 2019 movie season however, has not been kind to sequels and reboots of films that promote 1970s and 80's nostalgia for audiences. If one were asked how audiences responded to these films, the answer would be one that's full of surprise, shock, disappointment, heartbreak, and an ultimate understanding of where the state of Hollywood currently stands. Rambo: The Last Blood was a critical and financial box office dud, James Cameron and Tim Miller's Terminator: Dark Fate came and went with the film massively underperforming at the box office despite receiving generally solid reviews, most likely putting the Terminator franchise to bed on the big screen along with Rambo. Doctor Sleep surprised as being a worthy sequel to Stanley Kubrick's The Shining and enjoyed critical acclaim, though it failed to make a splash at box office like many were expecting it to (That had more to do with the studio foolishly putting the movie out the weekend after Halloween, instead of releasing it in early October which should've been the case). With Charlie's Angels, the hope was that Elizabeth Banks flashy and female-empowered reboot, would properly revitalize the series for modern audiences as the last time audiences saw the iconic characters on screen was in 2003 with Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. Sadly that wasn't the case as the film turned out to be both a critical and box office flop with Angels only making $8 million on it's opening weekend, prompting director and co-writer Elizabeth Banks to speculate on the films box office underperformance. Banks drew controversy with her baseless claim that male-audiences aren't interested in seeing female-driven action movies (Kill Bill and Atomic Blonde anyone?), and that two of the most highly successful female-driven superhero films such as Patty Jenkins Wonder Woman and Marvel's Captain Marvel, were successful only because they're in male-oriented franchise. Despite Charlie's Angels underperforming financially, the film itself is not bad nor terrible one by any means, and serves as being a fun and energetic reboot that does a decent job of reimagining the series for today's audiences, while carrying with it themes pertaining to feminism as well as female-empowerment.

       The plot for Charlie's Angels centers around a new group of Angels working for an international security and investigative Townsend Agency, find themselves teaming up with a young systems engineer (Played impressively by Naomi Scott), who blew the whistle on her company regarding a dangerous technology to battle antagonists, wishing to control an untested dangerous technology. Based on the popular 1970's TV show, which was later preceeded by two hit movies in the early 2000s starring Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diez, and Lucy Liu, the new Charlie's Angels brings the concept of three international female spies kicking ass into today's style of filmmaking and political climate. Rather than try to continue any of the previous films storyline, Banks opts for a fresh approach by showing the assembling of the new Angels team with a pair of fresh new faces of up and coming female stars. Banks utilizes the talents of Naomi Scott, whose best-known for her role as Jasmine in Disney's live-action Aladdin, Kristen Stewart best-known for her role as Bella in Twilight as well as Snow White And The Huntsmen, and Ella Balinska best-known for her role in Run Sweetheart Run. Whereas the three main actresses are diverse in terms of their backgrounds and acting talents, the trio work well together in terms of showcasing strong chemistry as well as making their characters exciting, fun, and relatable. What Banks succeeds at with her film is reintroducing the series to audiences with a style that feels fresh, while allowing them to get to know the new group of Angels on a personal level, making them share laughs with each other as well as showing them putting aside differences to work together as a team to save the day. Banks maintains the charm and spirit of the classic TV show with her reboot, while bringing the concept into a new era, as well as incorporating strong themes regarding gender roles. sexism, independence, aging legacy, and courage. The new Angels reboot soars when it focuses on the main characters while watching them slowly unite as a team, and struggles when the plot reverts away from them.

      The key to the success of the Angels reboot was always going to hinge on the casting and chemistry of the new group of young actresses chosen for the roles. Banks, having been well aware of this going into the films production, chooses her actresses wisely ensuring that they not only have chemistry together on the screen, but create a trio that's energetic and blows up the screen with their charismatic nature and ability to kick ass. Here she doesn't disappoint and chooses actresses that fit their roles well. Kristen Stewart shines in her role of Sabina Wilson, a hard-partying and highly-skilled agent with a history of breaking and entering, assault and battery, grand theft auto, and identity theft. Stewart perfectly conveys her characters feistiness, as well as her ferocious side and ability to make the audience laugh. Out of all the Angels, her character is the wildest and demonstrates it with key scenes such as her character jumping on a horse to pursue a group of baddies. Naomi Scott surprises and impresses once again in her role of playing an MIT-trained scientist, as well as serving as the heart of the film. Scott's character brings the outside perspective into the flashy Spy world of the Angels team, and helps craft a beautiful transition from helpful bystander to becoming an official member of Charlie's team. Her character comes across as being fun, sympathetic, and appealing with her ability to blend in with the rest of the team. Ella Balinska impresses and shines as Jane Kano, the EX-MI6 muscle of the group whose both tough and charismatic. Elizabeth Banks delivers a strong performance as female Bosley, making her character also feel like a metaphor for showing the evolution of women's careers in reality. Banks character is engaging, likeable, and mysterious in regards to the way her character is presented in the film, while also demonstrating chemistry with the Angels team. Djimon Hounsou and Patrick Stewart both deliver notable and effective performances as the male Bosleys on the Angels team, both adding flavor to the films level of entertainment while also confusing the hell out of audiences in regards to who the original Bosley is with the film implying that Stewart's character is the first one with a career spanning 40 years on the team. Stewart brings charm and class to his role as he appears to be having a ball with his part as he chews up the scenery when he's on-screen. Hounsou's character doesn't possess as much screentime as the others, but manages to leave a noteworthy impression with audiences with the amount of time he's on screen. Like the 2000 Charlie's Angels movie, the new film has a diverse yet talented cast that brings a great deal of fun, energy, and enthusiasm to the parts they play whether they are large roles or minimal ones. Everyone on screen feels natural in terms of sharing chemistry, and adds something to their roles. The cast was always going to play a pivotal part in determining whether the film succeeds as a worthy reboot of the series, and here they manage to rise to the occasion. Could the filmmakers have picked a stronger trio of actresses to play the roles of the Angels? Sure but the trio that's presented here is not bad, and comes across as feeling solid.

      The films directing by Elizabeth Banks is more tighter and focused than MCG's films narratively speaking. She directs the film with a steady hand and focuses the narrative around the formation of a new generation of Angels. Unlike the 2000 films which began with showing the Angels already formed as a team and working together, the reboot gives an updated origin story to show how the new team is formed. Banks keeps the structure of the franchise intact with her film in terms of showing female empowerment through showing the Angels acting independently, defying the odds, and succeeding in an environment that's male-dominated. The film is fast-paced with quick editing, balancing out the slick action with key moments of humor and character development. Banks keeps much of the ingredients that made the series successful thus far with beautifully talented leading ladies in the main roles, fast-paced action, a narrative that's relatively easy to follow while keeping the audience guessing with whose the traitor in the agency, and a story that essentially shows that women can perform the same duties and task as men and make it look equally appealing. Banks essentially takes the 2000 film and gives audiences a more upgraded version, that feels like an appropriate reboot in a post #MeToo era.

      The films screenplay also by Elizabeth Banks is full of feminist tropes with the female characters being in complete control of the film storywise with male characters being either sidekicks assisting the Angels, love interests, or antagonists in the film. The films opening scene establishes the mindset of the Angels with Kristen Stewart's character having a conversation with a male character, and stating that she feels that women should have the power to do whatever they want and have the same job opportunities as men. The response of the male character is the opposite mindset of Stewart's with his response being that just because women are capable of doing the same things as men doesn't mean that they should. The dialogue in the films opening scene feels like Banks is telling the audience that women essentially are capable of doing the same tasks as men and deserve the same chances. Perhaps the opening dialogue is used as a symbolism to reference the uphill struggle that the Angels had to overcome in order to be in the position that they're in now in terms of saving the world as shown in the film. The new film takes a more aggressive tone than the 2000 movies in regards to exploring its themes of feminism with the film often feeling like it's hitting audiences over the head with it's messages (All noble ones) regarding women's rights, acceptance, and being independent. Though it doesn't distract from the films overall entertainment value or story, the messages tend to come across as feeling heavy-handed which is bound to put off some of its audience. The scriptwriting is at it's strongest when it focuses on the group and utilizes Naomi Scott's​ character as being not just the heart of the Angels, but the one who brings them all together as a team with her character exposing the shady misgivings within her own company. The screenplay struggles when it tries to elaborate on the past of the Angels with Kristen Stewart's character being appealing but not thoroughly developed. She's given dialogue that explains her characters troubled past, but its not as effective as what a quick flashback sequence could've been with her character. The script also drops the ball in terms of referencing Charlie in the story with audiences not getting to hear much from him in terms of directing the girls on their mission. This could've been a switch that Banks pulled in regards to focusing the film on the multiple Bosleys in the story, but doing so takes away from the genuine feel that audiences are watching a Charlie's Angels movie. What made the 2000 Charlie's Angels film work so well was not just that the main characters were well-developed, charismatic and appealing, they showed a genuine enthusiasm and respect for their boss when they heard his voice on the speaker despite never formally meeting him. The whole mystery regarding the identity of Charlie from the original movie with the Angels eager to find out is absent here, ultimately taking away from the spirit of the show in a sense. The plot twist involving the revealing of the films main villain feels generic and cliched with the audience having already seen this twist before in other Spy films, including the previous Angels films if one wants to get technical. The new Charlie's Angels is not without it's problems in terms of scriptwriting with the film being at it's strongest when it focuses on the Angels, but often leaves much to be desired with the rest of the films plot. The henchmen of the villains aren't as interesting as the ones from the first movie, particularly Crispin Glovers twisted performance as Thin Man, a character so over-the-top and ridiculous that he was ultimately fun to watch. When it comes to the new Charlie's Angels film, the script is serviceable enough to make the overall film work, but often feels like a mixed bag with it missing some key things that would've made it even stronger of a film.

      While the 2000 Charlie's​ Angels movie was nothing groundbreaking to write home about, it remained self-aware with how it mixed an attractive cast with tongue-in-cheek humor while blending glossy yet impressive action sequences. It was a slick film and ultimately fun to watch despite the lack of originality. There is nothing within the plot of the new Charlie's Angels that hasn't been seen or done before in the previous films with the movie often feeling like it went through a checklist of things needed to make it a hit film, such as a strong cast of talented yet beautiful women combined with fast-paced action, explosions, car chases, appealing side characters played by strong actors, and themes regarding feminism and girl power being proudly stated throughout the film. The opening dialogue between Stewart's character and the guy she's distracting almost feels like a wink at the #MeToo movement along with being a current slam on misogyny. The audience that Banks aims for with her film is not just fans of the 1970's show or the 2000 movies, but young women not familiar with the series prior. This film was made specifically for a new generation of fans with the original ones in mind. Banks gives the film a similar style in regards to the action and tongue-in-cheek humor the previous films had. Elizabeth Bank's Charlie's Angels much like the previous Angels films before it, carries its own share of issues but those are outnumbered by the fun-spirited performances the cast brings to their roles as well as Banks flashy style of directing, that gives the film a freshness required to properly reimagine the franchise. While it certainly won't be everyone's cup of tea with some audiences bound to either take offense, annoyance, or anger towards the films strong messages regarding feminism, Elizabeth Banks for the most part, succeeds in making the case that the Charlie's Angels franchise is worth revisiting in today's climate of filmmaking. It wasn't that men didn't want to see the new Charlie's Angels movie, it was that the film was poorly marketed which led to it's shocking yet massively disappointing box office intake. Though the final product despite being entertaining and generally fun to watch, is far from being strong enough to warrant audiences to rush to the theater to watch in droves to make up for the lost revenue. It's an honorable reboot of the classic series, but one that can be watched and enjoyed once it makes it's inevitable rounds on home video and cable.

Final Verdict: Worth watching for fans of the series, though they can wait for it on Redbox.